1.Ian McShane will play...someone!

HBO

As the show has more or less caught up with the books the showrunners are keeping their cards closer to their chests than ever before – every casting announcement could give away huge spoilers ahead of both Season 6 and the release of The Winds of Winter. It's therefore not especially surprising that it hasn't yet been announced who the Deadwood star will play.

According to Entertainment Weekly, McShane has a "relatively small amount of screen-time during the season, yet his character is of key importance." Make of that what you will.

The most commonly held opinion is that McShane will play Randyll Tarly, Sam's dad, who we'll meet once Sam arrives at the Citadel. Some suggested he would be playing Theon's uncle, Euron Greyjoy, but...

2.Euron Greyjoy will be played by Danish actor Pilou Asbæk.

Tiziana Fabi / AFP / Getty Images

ASOIAF readers will know that the Iron Islands storyline is possibly the one most overlooked in the show so far, but that could be about to change. After a casting call for a pirate-like character went out earlier in the summer Euron's appearance seemed inevitable, then last week HBO confirmed that Borgen star Pilou Asbæk would be assuming the role.

In the books Euron Greyjoy (Theon and Yara's uncle) captains a ship whose entire crew are mute thanks to Euron ripping out their tongues – just in case you were wondering what type of character he'll be...

3.Theon is going home!

HBO

Given they've barely been mentioned in two seasons, there were suggestions that the thing that would take our attention back to the Iron Islands would be newly free Theon/Reek heading back to his homeland, and now this seems all but confirmed.

Thrones blog Watchers on the Wall claims that Alfie Allen has been spotted by multiple sources filming alongside the Ironborn, including his sister Yara and uncle Euron.

Below is a photo uploaded by the Red Door Tea Room in Ballintoy, showing that Theon and Yara are very much back together.

Last time we saw Theon he was jumping from the walls of Winterfell with Sansa – so the question now is: Has she gone to the Iron Islands too? Talking of Starks...

4.Ned Stark is going to appear, but not as we know him.

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Sorry to get your hopes up, but (so far) there's been no word of Sean Bean returning to the show. Watchers on the Wall claims that we will, however, meet a much younger version of Ned – played by 13-year-old English actor Sebastian Croft.

As yet the only flashback we've seen was young Cersei and Maggy the Frog at the beginning of Season 5, but there have been plenty of signs that this was probably the first of many. A few months ago a casting call went out for a trio of young boys with northern accents, the youngest of whom should have green eyes (like a certain Sean Bean). Assuming Croft is playing the youngest of the three boys that were required (Ned), it seems likely that the larger boy of the same age would be Robert Baratheon, while the older boy would be Ned's older brother Brandon.

Flashbacks are coming!

5.Though Sean Bean fans shouldn't despair JUST yet...

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As we explained last month, one of the new filming locations announced for the new season – Castillo de Zafra in Guadalajara, Spain – bears a striking resemblence to the legendary Tower of Joy.

For non-book-readers, you can learn all about why the Tower of Joy is so important here, but suffice it to say that IF this location does turn out to be the tower, we'll almost certainly see Ned Stark again.

The events at the tower took place 17 years before the show, so either they'd have to cast a third Ned, or (get hype) bring back Bean and try to take some years off with make-up or TV trickery.

6.Richard E Grant is (apparently) going to be making an appearance.

This clearly says that Grant's most recent TV job is GOT, and yet if you visit the same page now you can see it has been removed. Either someone was making a joke, or (more likely) it was updated by an over-eager agent who was quickly told to remove the information by the showrunners.

Who could he be playing? To be honest, we have absolutely no idea. But in terms of who we WANT it to be, we can imagine the Withnail & I star making a rather convincing mad king in a flashback, as unlikely as this may be. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

7.But in confirmed casting news, this Hogwarts alumnus will be playing Samwell Tarly's brother.

Warner Brothers

HBO

You probably recognise him as cocky Quidditch stud Cormac McLaggen from the later Harry Potter films, but 28-year-old Freddie Stroma has now been cast as Samwell Tarly's younger brother Dickon.

After Sam was deemed to be an unworthy heir by his father, Randyll Tarly, he was sent to the Wall, at which point Dickon became the rightful heir to the Tarly seat of Horn Hill.

8.And here's what Horn Hill will look like.

Last we saw, Samwell was headed off to the Citadel to become a maester, dragging Gilly and baby Sam in tow. With the Citadel being situated in Oldtown – very close to Horn Hill – it was always likely that we'd get a closer look at Sam's childhood home in Season 6.

According to Spanish site Los Siete Reinos it has been confirmed that the Tarly home will be Castell de Santa Florentina in Spain, which was announced as a filming location in July.

9.The three-eyed raven has been recast, with Max Von Sydow taking over the role.

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ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP

In the final episode of Season 4 Bran, Meera, and Hodor finally encountered the mysterious three-eyed raven in human form. Last month Entertainment Weekly exclusively revealed that the role of the raven was being recast, and that acclaimed Swedish-French actor Max Von Sydow would be taking over.

The fact that an actor as accomplished as Von Sydow will be playing the part suggests that his character will play an important role in the coming season. And, of course, it means that...

10.Bran and Hodor are back!

Though it was widely known that Bran would return in Season 6 after his year-long hiatus, this photo of Isaac Hempstead Wright and Kristian Nairn (Hodor) out for dinner in Belfast last month seals it.

There's a theory that the skills that Bran has been learning from the three-eyed raven in his time offscreen will enable him to see the flashbacks that will allow us to see young Ned, as well as (fingers crossed) what went down at the Tower of Joy. Here's hoping.

11.And it looks like Bran isn't the only long-lost Stark kid who's set to return...

HBO

Rickon's not been seen since Season 3, and there were many who believed we may never encounter the youngest Stark ever again. However, as you can see below, both Art Parkinson (Rickon) and Natalia Tena (Osha, his guardian of sorts) were spotted in Belfast in August.

Finally. All (living) Stark children present and correct for the first time in three years!

12.Arya is still blind, for now.

As you can see from the caption under Maisie Williams' Instagram, those blind contacts can really take their toll. It's been rumoured more recently that Williams has since been filming scenes without the contacts, suggesting that her sight may return at some point during the season.

13.There will be no filming in Croatia.

HBO

Ever since the second season, the Croatian city of Dubrovnik has been used as King's Landing. However, a statement released by HBO last month claims that no filming will take place in the city for Season 6.

Does this mean we won't get to see King's Landing next season? Unlikely. Cersei, Tommen, Margaery, Loras, Qyburn, the High Sparrow and zombie-Mountain are all still there and there's a whole lot of stuff that was left unresolved in Season 5.

There's a good chance that all it means is that most King's Landing scenes will be filmed in a studio (in Belfast), and that no major outdoor scenes – such as Cersei's walk of shame – were required for Season 6. Plus there are other cities around Europe, such as Spain (where a lot of filming is taking place), that should make for decent replacements.

14.It's likely that there will be two more seasons after Season 6.

HBO

With the actors currently signed up for just seven seasons, many thought that this coming run would be the penultimate one. However, HBO president Michael Lombardo told the Television Critics Association that the showrunners were planning on extending that to eight seasons.

There's still a load of stuff that you'd think still has to happen; Dany finally making landfall on Westeros, Jon coming back to life before meeting his dragon-riding aunt, the Wall coming down, and the inevitably epic war for the dawn. When you put it like that, three more seasons seems like the absolute minimum they could fit it all into!

Talking of Jon, we can't finish this post without addressing you know what. Even if we really do know nothing.

15.Jon Snow is almost-definitely-maybe in Season 6 and is probably-certainly-perhaps going to be alive. Maybe.

The attention that has been put on whether Kit Harington is or isn't in Belfast (he has been, a lot) and whether he has or hasn't cut his luscious locks off (he hasn't) is almost unprecedented.

The long and the short of it (hair pun slightly intended) is that if he was only going to be around long enough to film the end of a death scene and maybe a funeral, he would not have needed to go to and from Belfast as much as he has.

Combine this with the blatant hints in Season 5 that R + L = J is true and that we might find out for certain very soon, there is no way the show (nor George R.R. Martin) would kill off such a pivotal character. Whether Melisandre does her stuff, whether he turns into a white walker, or whether he wargs into his direwolf, Jon is coming back. We think. Get hype.